


Bonsai

by AParallelLine



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Treebros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 18:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19874356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AParallelLine/pseuds/AParallelLine
Summary: Connor gives Evan a bonsai tree. All seems well, but then Evan stops showing up at school. Connor tries to cheer him up.





	Bonsai

**Author's Note:**

> Alternately titled "Anytime, Acorn.". Reposted from my Wattpad.

Connor held tightly onto the pot, hoping he didn't inadvertently drop it in his way into school. After all, his hands were shaking like crazy. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so nervous, though even if he was, he couldn't exactly stop it.

_Don't be so stupid,_ he thought. _It's just a little gift for a tree dork because he's not a dick. No big deal._

He sighed as he turned the corner of the hall, taking a glance at the small bonsai tree in his hands.

"Well I can see why he likes this stuff." He murmured to himself. "The miniature size is kind of amusing."

"Hey, Connor!" Evan called from behind him. Connor jumped, turning around with a frown.

"Don't do that!" He exclaimed. Evan, clearly put off his seemingly angry disposition, frowned, averting his eyes shamefully.

"Sorry..." He murmured, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

Connor gave an awkward pout, biting his lip as he gazed down at him.

"Its fine, Ev'." He replied. "I wasn't mad. Just a bit startled." He explained. "Anyways, uh-"

" Is that a bonsai tree?!" Evan exclaimed, immediately distracted at the notice of the potted plant in Connor's hands.

"Yeah, heh, it is." Connor replied, smiling softly. Evan grinned excitedly.

"That's so cool! Who's it for?" He asked, tilting his head curiously. Connor could help but compare the sight to a puppy.

"I, uh-" Connor stammered, fumbling over his words as his now slightly sweaty hands clung to the pot. "I got it for you."

Evan paused, his eyes wide with shock.

"No," He said, "You're lying."

Connor shook his head. "No, its true! I ordered it off the internet special!" He exclaimed. He paused after a moment, flushing and averting his gaze. "To, uh, to make you shut up about the trees. So just take it, Yeah?"

Evan smiled widely and nodded, taking the pot from his arms and hugging it tightly.

"I shall name it Issac." He declared. Connor smiled at him.

"Issac..?" He chuckled, grinning incredulously. Evan shrugged.

"I just like the name." He replied. Connor shook his head in disbelief.

"Tree hugger"

Evan perked up. "Oh! That reminds me." He said, humming quietly as he set the tree down next to him for a moment. Connor stared, puzzled.

"Huh-?"

His thoughts were interrupted when Evan wrapped him in a tight hug, smiling widely.

"Thank you, Connor." He said happily. Connor froze, his face flushing a deep pink. He tentatively wrapped his arms around him as well, smiling awkwardly.

"Anytime, Acorn." He murmured.

-

Connor was worried about Evan. He hadn't seen him in a week, since he gave him the tree. He hadn't come to school, and he wouldn't answer his calls. While he wouldn't admit it, he really did care about him, To what extent, he wasn't sure, but either way he wanted to make sure Evan was okay. Thus, he justified his actions as sweet, not creepy. After all, him Facebook stalking Evan and his mom was just so he could find where he lived, so he could check up on him, right?

Alright, so it was a little weird, but Connor had good intentions. He wouldn't do this for just anyone. Which was exactly why he felt weird doing it, really, y'know, going to such lengths for someone he really knew little about. Other than a few conversations here and there, and the tree he bought for him, he really didn't know him too well. It had taken a while to convince his parents that he wasn't online shopping while high again. Which he actually was, but the tree wasn't an on the whim decision.

Nonetheless, there he was, dressed in his cleanest clothes that weren't too fancy, but didn't make him look like a bum, (as he usually did). After all, he doubted any good mother would open the door to a random kid she had never heard about, claiming that he, a weird stoner kid, was hanging out with her goodie-two-shoes son for any amount of time. It may even get Evan in trouble, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. Thus, he decided a clean pair of black jeans, along with a black t-shirt and red flannel were the way to go.

Connor did one last check of his hair before reaching out a tentative hand, giving a few light knocks on the front door of the house. He heard shuffling inside, along with someone dropping something and a few curses as they likely cleaned it up, before the door opened to reveal a somewhat flustered blonde woman. She had rolled up sleeves and hair put back into a messy ponytail.

"Sorry, uh, hello." She greeted, tucking a bit of loose hair behind her ear. "May I help you?"

Connor cleared his throat awkwardly.  
"Hi, uh, Mrs. Hansen, is it?" He started. "I'm a... Friend of Evan's." He introduced, trying to seem more relaxed. "I was wondering if I could speak to him, maybe?"

The woman's expression softened.  
"He's at a therapist's appointment at the moment, I'm afraid." She informed. "Though he'll be back soon. Would you like to step inside?"

Connor was a bit surprised by this, but nodded as she stepped aside, walking past her and into the house. It seemed homey, less manufactured than his house. It wasn't spotless, but it wasn't messy. It smelled like laundry and febreeze, an oddly pleasant smell. The woman had likely been cleaning, he mused, taking a step into the main living room.

"Please, take a seat." She said, hastily wiping down the kitchen table, though in Connor's eyes, it already seemed spotless.

_Maybe she isn't used to company,_ he thought.

"Would you like some water?" She called from the kitchen.

"I'm fine, thank you." He replied, sitting politely and waiting for her to return.

Ms. Hansen returned after a moment, sitting in a chair across from him.

"So-" She started. "You said you needed to talk to Evan. What would that be about?"

"If you don't mind me asking, that is." She added after a pause.

Connor gulped a bit. He didn't really prepare to explain himself. That he had been losing sleep over some tree nerd not coming to school for a few days. That he had been worried sick. That it made him even more panicky because he didn't know _why._ Nonetheless, he had to tell her. So he sucked it up, beginning to explain.

"Well, I had been a little worried about Evan, since he hasn't been in school for a while. I just wanted to make sure he was alright." He explained. "

" Wait--" Heidi interrupted. " Excuse my bluntness, but, who are you, exactly? "

Connor gave a sheepish smile.  
"Connor." He replied. "Connor Murphy."

Heidi's eyes slowly widened in realization, pieces of a puzzle seemingly coming together in her head.

"You're Connor? The boy who gave Evan the bonsai tree?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but asking for the sake of clarity.

Connor nodded. "Yes ma'am, what about it?"

Her expression slowly faded to a frown.

"You want to know why Evan wasn't in school?" she asked. Connor nodded again.

"Well." She started. "I'm sure you could tell that Evan has pretty bad anxiety."

"Yeah, I could." He replied. "With all due respect, it's a bit obvious."

Heidi gave a bittersweet chuckle, nodding.

"Well, about a week ago, Evan forgot to take his meds. He ended up having a panic attack." She explained. "During his panic, he accidentally knocked over the tree, and it snapped in half." 

Connor frowned. "What does that have to do with it?"

"He got really upset." She continued, not quite acknowledging his question. "He felt really guilty, and thought that you would hate him. So he hasn't been coming to school."

Connor fell silent. All of this... Because he knocked over a tree? Connor did feel bad, but fuck, that was adorable. He frowned nonetheless, though. Thinking about how he must've felt really made him sad.

Luckily, it was then that the idea came to him.

"Mrs. Hansen, could I do something here on Saturday?"

-

That Saturday, Connor had spent hours setting things up. He had spent all of his savings on the trees, but it was worth it, at least in his mind.

He glanced around, counting the trees to make sure he had all of them. He smiled when he counted all fifteen. Each one was placed throughout Evan's room, each pot painted white. Connor had even taken the time to sign each pot on the bottom, with sweet little encouraging messages on the sides.

He liked that it was so nice, that it made him gag.

Heidi pokes her head into the room, looking at Connor.

"Is it ready?" She asked, a grin worming it's way onto her face. She was clearly very excited to cheer up her son.

Connor nodded. "All good. Is he almost here?"

"Yep." She replied. "The walls are thin enough, so you'll be able to hear when he comes in. I'll leave it to you now."

Connor smiled. "Thanks again, Mrs. Hansen."

She waved him off. "Ah, don't call me that. Heidi is fine."

Connor gave a slight nod as she stepped into the room.

"And Connor?" She asked, making him perk his head up in curiosity. She walked over to him, wrapping him in a gentle hug.

"Thank you for being so nice to my son." She said sincerely. "I can tell you care about him a lot."

Connor turned a bit pink. Heidi laughed.

"Oh, Connor, I'm a mom. I'm not stupid." She joked, pulling away from the hug and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Just..." She started. "Be careful not to hurt him."

Connor gave a half smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Heidi gave an approving nod, giving him a thumbs up as she turned to step out of the room. She shut the door behind her, leaving Connor alone.

Connor took a moment to think about what she had said.

_"I can tell you care about him a lot."_

Connor couldn't deny that he did, but to what extent? He was typically aloof, his dark and foreboding personality pushing away most of anyone who tried to make contact with him, including his own family. But Evan... Evan was different. Despite his dark demeanor, and Evan's clear anxiety towards everyone, he didn't seem to have any more fear towards Connor as he had fear towards the gym teacher or the bulky sophomores.

_Evan must be very strong to overcome things like that,_ he thought.

While Connor was definitely a typical emo teen, he wasn't exactly anxious very often. The closest thing he had to an anxiety attack was when he would get so angry that he exploded from trying to keep it in. He couldn't imagine what Evan was dealing with. He could understand, after some thought, why Evan had left school after breaking the tree. It was because he was afraid to lose him.

Connor felt touched, to say the least. Typically, he thought that most people saw him as unpleasant to be around, but Evan didn't seem to find him unpleasant at all.

Connor didn't know how to process being tolerated, let alone possibly liked. However it didn't seem to feel all that bad. Maybe he could get used to it, at least if he had the chance.

Connor's train of thought was interrupted when he heard the door downstairs open. He quickly straightened himself out, small smile growing on his face as he stood facing the door. He remained silent as he listened to the footsteps making their way up the stairs, down the hall and around the corner.

Evan sighed as he stepped into the room, his demeanor giving away that he had likely planned to just fall asleep to escape his problems. Connor almost felt bad for derailing his routine. Almost.

"Hey there, Acorn." He greeted.

Evan's head perked up as he began to look around the room. His eyes slowly widened as he glanced at what was in front of him, slowly taking it in.

"Oh my god. Am I dead? Or am I really standing in a room with twenty bonsai trees?" He asked.

"Actually, its only fifteen. Sorry about that." Connor apologized.

Evan stared in disbelief. He was so amazed that Connor had done this.

"Holy pine." He breathed, running a hand through his hair. "Why did you do this?" He asked.

Connor gave a sheepish smile.  
"I was worried about you, so the other day I came over to check up on you." He admitted, rubbing his neck. "Your mom told me what happened, so I decided to cheer you up."

Evan laughed incredulously.

"Connor, if you wanted to cheer me up, you should've told me it was fine, not bought me a mini forest!" He exclaimed through giggles. "You didn't need to do that!"

Connor shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you would be happy."

"Connor." He said. "Shut up and hug me."

Connor rolled his eyes, motioning for Evan to come over. Evan did so, walking over to him and wrapping his arms around him. The embrace was warm. It made Connor feel safe, and quite a bit happier than usual. It was unusual for him; feeling this way. It bubbled up from the pit of his stomach, into his chest and to his throat. Kinda like vomit. But in a less gross way, y'know? The way Evan made him feel was overwhelming, threatening to spill out at any moment.

Evan looked up at him with an innocent expression.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" He asked.

Connor blinked, shaking away his thoughts.

"Oh, nothing."

Evan smiled, reaching up and pecking Connor's cheek, slightly flushed.

"Thank you, Connor." He said.

Connor looked at him in surprise, face tinted with a slight rose color. His surprise soon faded to a smile, though.

"Anytime, Acorn."


End file.
